The Best and Worst Airlines - WSJ

In The Middle Seat’s annual scorecard of airline service, which tracks seven different key measures of airline performance, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, two perennial good performers, placed at the top of rankings. Alaska has invested in satellite-based technology that helps it keep flying in fog and other bad weather in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Alaska says a program announcing customer surveys onboard planes has helped reduce DOT complaints and a 20-minute delivery-time guarantee on getting bags to carousels has forced improved baggage handling.

Virgin America credits, in part, a generous employee-incentive program that offers a 3% bonus for high scores in three areas: customer-satisfaction surveys, aircraft operations and safety and on-time performance.

United and American airlines occupied the bottom two rungs of the scorecard for the fourth straight year.